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The Burwood police are investigating a story told them by an undertaker concerning elaborate arrangements made with him for a funeral on Tuesday.

A woman who is believed to have no family, died in a private hospital at Burwood, and a man, whom the undertaker understood to be her husband, ordered an expensive funeral. An elaborate polished oak coffin, costing £40, was ordered, also several mourning coaches, and wreath costing £2 2s.

Yesterday the undertaker, the mourners, and the clergyman waited for the “husband” of the dead woman, but he did not arrive. The undertaker, refusing to allow the funeral to be carried out, cancelled the arrangements until sufficient money to pay expenses was forthcoming. The mourners commandeered the coaches , and searched Canterbury in vain for the missing man.

The police have learned that the man’s employer was with him at 2 p.m. In a hotel which they left in the employer’s car to go to the funeral chambers. On the way the “widower” asked his employer to stop and allow him to enter a house to get money. There the employer waited for some time; and then made a search of the house, but found no trace of the man.

So far the undertaker, the private hospital, and the Macquarie Street specialist who attended the woman are still unpaid and the “widowed husband” is missing.

Reports that lions escaped the visiting Lennon Bros Circus in Stawell, Western Victoria, have been exposed as a hoax. Social network website Facebook went into overdrive with rumours that a lion was on the loose around the town. Cheryl Lennon, manager of Lennon Bros Circus, said the reports are “far from the truth.” Mrs Lennon found out about the rumours after members of the circus were asked about the supposed escape when in the town’s main street. A caller rang Melbourne radio station 3AW’s Neil Mitchell program, claiming to be ‘Ash Lennon’ from the circus and said the lions had escaped. The caller gave out Mrs Lennon’s personal phone number to the radio station and she took the airwaves to dismiss the rumour. “I’ve clarified and confirmed that we have three lions laying here, catching a bit of sun,” Mrs Lennon said. Mrs Lennon believed the rumours had stemmed from the circus being cancelled Wednesday night due to bad weather. “What has happened is that we had a show due to start at 7pm and it was cancelled due to the wind. The wind lifted up the front entrance, the back door frame lifted off and my ticket stall fell over,” she said. “We made the call to evacuate people purely for their safety. We let people know that it was because of the weather and fully refunded their tickets.” Mrs Lennon said if a lion had escaped, the circus would have let authorities know immediately. “We certainly would be notifying authorities, such as the police and SES (State Emergency Service) first,” she said. This is not the first time the circus has had rumours about lions escaping from their enclosure. Mrs Lennon told The Stawell Times-News it had happened to her brother-in-law when they visited Cranbourne ‘but not to this extent.’ “A lady rang the council telling them a lion had escaped. It was far from the truth.” The circus re-assured members of the public the lions are not missing. “Believe me, trust me – they’re there. They’re not going anywhere,” Mrs Lennon said.

A woman returned to her home in the Brisbane suburb of Sherwood on the 24th of January 1934, and found her 16 year old son bound and gagged behind a dressing table in a bedroom. She called the police. Constable Suchting interviewed the boy, who told hi. That he had heard a sound in the bedroom. When he went to investigate, a masked man had stepped from behind the door and hit him on the jaw with a heavy object, knocking him out. When he came to he was bound and gagged. Constable Suchting was not satisfied with the boys story, given there was no marks on this body. After exhaustive questioning, the boy admitted that the whole thing had been a hoax. He had read a novel describing such an attack and decided he would create a sensation about himself. He placed a gag in his mouth and cleverly tied his legs and arms with rope.

The Burwood police are investigating a story told them by an undertaker concerning elaborate arrangements made with him for a funeral on Tuesday.

A woman who is believed to have no family, died in a private hospital at Burwood, and a man, whom the undertaker understood to be her husband, ordered an expensive funeral. An elaborate polished oak coffin, costing £40, was ordered, also several mourning coaches, and wreath costing £2 2s.

Yesterday the undertaker, the mourners, and the clergyman waited for the “husband” of the dead woman, but he did not arrive. The undertaker, refusing to allow the funeral to be carried out, cancelled the arrangements until sufficient money to pay expenses was forthcoming. The mourners commandeered the coaches , and searched Canterbury in vain for the missing man.

The police have learned that the man’s employer was with him at 2 p.m. In a hotel which they left in the employer’s car to go to the funeral chambers. On the way the “widower” asked his employer to stop and allow him to enter a house to get money. There the employer waited for some time; and then made a search of the house, but found no trace of the man.

So far the undertaker, the private hospital, and the Macquarie Street specialist who attended the woman are still unpaid and the “widowed husband” is missing.

Reports that lions escaped the visiting Lennon Bros Circus in Stawell, Western Victoria, have been exposed as a hoax. Social network website Facebook went into overdrive with rumours that a lion was on the loose around the town. Cheryl Lennon, manager of Lennon Bros Circus, said the reports are “far from the truth.” Mrs Lennon found out about the rumours after members of the circus were asked about the supposed escape when in the town’s main street. A caller rang Melbourne radio station 3AW’s Neil Mitchell program, claiming to be ‘Ash Lennon’ from the circus and said the lions had escaped. The caller gave out Mrs Lennon’s personal phone number to the radio station and she took the airwaves to dismiss the rumour. “I’ve clarified and confirmed that we have three lions laying here, catching a bit of sun,” Mrs Lennon said. Mrs Lennon believed the rumours had stemmed from the circus being cancelled Wednesday night due to bad weather. “What has happened is that we had a show due to start at 7pm and it was cancelled due to the wind. The wind lifted up the front entrance, the back door frame lifted off and my ticket stall fell over,” she said. “We made the call to evacuate people purely for their safety. We let people know that it was because of the weather and fully refunded their tickets.” Mrs Lennon said if a lion had escaped, the circus would have let authorities know immediately. “We certainly would be notifying authorities, such as the police and SES (State Emergency Service) first,” she said. This is not the first time the circus has had rumours about lions escaping from their enclosure. Mrs Lennon told The Stawell Times-News it had happened to her brother-in-law when they visited Cranbourne ‘but not to this extent.’ “A lady rang the council telling them a lion had escaped. It was far from the truth.” The circus re-assured members of the public the lions are not missing. “Believe me, trust me – they’re there. They’re not going anywhere,” Mrs Lennon said.

A woman returned to her home in the Brisbane suburb of Sherwood on the 24th of January 1934, and found her 16 year old son bound and gagged behind a dressing table in a bedroom. She called the police. Constable Suchting interviewed the boy, who told hi. That he had heard a sound in the bedroom. When he went to investigate, a masked man had stepped from behind the door and hit him on the jaw with a heavy object, knocking him out. When he came to he was bound and gagged. Constable Suchting was not satisfied with the boys story, given there was no marks on this body. After exhaustive questioning, the boy admitted that the whole thing had been a hoax. He had read a novel describing such an attack and decided he would create a sensation about himself. He placed a gag in his mouth and cleverly tied his legs and arms with rope.